# The perplexing appeal of Florida **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 22, 2022, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021 "2022-09-22T08:20:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/101 "2022-09-23T18:39:02Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Well, next time you’re in South Dakota, pop over to Vermillion and the [Shrine to Music](https://www.nmmusd.org/) (now the National Music Museum). It is an oasis of culture in the vast pointless Dakota wastes. Mustn’t forget Reptile Gardens in Rapid City. > **[Wild Animal Park Black Hills attraction Reptile Gardens](https://www.reptilegardens.com/)** > > A Black Hills attraction you'll never forget, Reptile Gardens is a specialized wild animal park featuring reptiles, amphibians, birds, and bugs for your enjoyment. IMO it’s the cultural high point between Leavenworth, WA and Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/102 "2022-09-23T19:21:38Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > general dingyness once you are away from the fancy strips was mentioned in an earlier post. I had friends who did a road trip about ten years ago (one of them was trying to “get” all 50 states), and this is almost exactly how they described most cities in the South. They found it depressing. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/103 "2022-09-23T20:54:42Z")
Oh - and I MIGHT be willing to go to the Orlando parks - IF someone paid all of my expenses and maybe $1k a day. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/104 "2022-09-23T22:28:12Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Mustn’t forget Reptile Gardens in Rapid City. > > [https://www.reptilegardens.com/](https://www.reptilegardens.com/) > > IMO it’s the cultural high point between Leavenworth, WA and Chicago. Back in the day Mrs. J. and I visited Reptile Gardens. I’m surprised she was willing to go, given her fear and loathing of snakes. We were walking through one naturalistic exhibit when she cried out, “They’re _loose_!!!” A fond memory. Many’s the time I’ve passed the billboards on I-80, but never got to visit [Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland](https://reptiland.com). ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/105 "2022-09-24T03:15:31Z")
Pretty sure the impetus here is Florida’s well publicized homestead law that keeps anyone from taking your residence in the event of a civil judgment, criminal profit disgorgement order or bankruptcy. Same reason why OJ moved to Florida, to escape having to pay a civil judgment. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/106 "2022-09-24T03:42:31Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > January Water Temp: > Miami Beach: 71F > Los Angeles: 57F > > Not even close. Does anyone actually swim in the Pacific Ocean? Sure. In a very thick wet suit 😀. Yeah, I think this is big issue for a certain category of tourist. As a little kid I used to love playing in the surf on [Ocean Beach in San Francisco](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Beach,_San_Francisco). Eventually you’d have to come in to warm up for a bit because your legs would start to go numb. That’s not even to mention the persistent undertow and riptides that make it probably the most dangerous beach in the United States. As scenic as they are, Pacific beaches in the U.S. are mostly considerably rougher and colder than Atlantic beaches. Add in the increased expense and it is rather less attractive for the beach bums. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/107 "2022-09-24T12:12:53Z")
My BIL is a very wealthy retired accountant. About a decade ago, he and my sister moved to FLA - in large part to get away from IL’s high taxes. (Of course, no sooner did he get there than he began bitching about the crap services! :D) I’m stupid about taxes and finances myself, but this one datapoint saw some financial/tax advantage. Plus he golfs every day! ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/108 "2022-09-24T12:38:17Z")
@Buttercup_Smith has been there for decades maybe she can explain it ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/109 "2022-09-24T12:49:32Z")
When we were in SoCal - Newport Beach - a couple of years ago, I was impressed at the group I saw distance swimming well off shore. No idea wha they were wearing, but I couldn’t even make it out to the point where they stared swimming large triangular laps. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/110 "2022-09-24T17:50:26Z")
Lifeguard training. I swam the pier to pier qualifying swim but took too long to make the cut. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/111 "2022-09-24T17:58:55Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Yeah, I think this is big issue for a certain category of tourist. As a little kid I used to love playing in the surf on [Ocean Beach in San Francisco](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Beach,_San_Francisco). Eventually you’d have to come in to warm up for a bit because your legs would start to go numb. That’s not even to mention the persistent undertow and riptides that make it probably the most dangerous beach in the United States That was similar to my SoCal beach when I was a kid. You didn’t mention jellyfish, though. We’d all keep our eyes peeled, and if anyone saw one, you’d yell “JELLYFISH!” as loud as you could. It would start a massive surge of kids toward the sand. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/112 "2022-09-24T18:16:21Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > Yes, but aside from the mountains, deserts, vineyards, beaches (“surf in the morning and ski in the afternoon”), low humidity, lack of hurricanes, tolerance, etc. is California really all that different from Florida? No alligators. You forgot no alligators. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/113 "2022-09-24T18:28:18Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Pacific beaches in the U.S. are mostly considerably rougher and colder than Atlantic beaches. California has a looooong coastline. The beaches up at Lost Coast are entirely different than Santa Monica. Around Santa Barbara the California Current that flows south from Alaska veers off the coast and you can swim without a wetsuit. But people in California, even Southern California, go the beach to cool off. I was extremely disappointed to find that North Carolina beaches are more like tepid salt lakes than real, California-like beaches. You can wade slowly out for many yards while the unpleasantly warm water laps at your thighs, breathing the thick hot air. Hard to imagine Florida is any improvement. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/114 "2022-09-24T21:14:55Z")
In many locations off the Outer Banks in NC, you can literally go 25 miles out into the Atlantic and the bottom looks exactly like the areas 25 feet off the beach. It’s just deeper. Water temps are about the same. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/115 "2022-09-24T21:49:25Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Florida still has Man. What Florida has is a _very_ comprehensive sunshine law that ensures every single arrest in the state is posted to the WWW within hours. Most states keep arrests a non-public record until / unless there’s a conviction. Florida has some damn ignorant yokels for sure; whether urban yokels or rural yokels doesn’t matter. But having lived in 5 states long-term and worked with police departments scattered all over this fine country of ours, I can say with some confidence that yokels be everywhere. Florida’s are just much more searchable for folks writing clickbait listicles. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/116 "2022-09-25T15:06:22Z")
> [@Bootb](#): > > And after a few years, the “babe in bikinis” turn into “women who look 30 years older than they are because their skin has become leather.” Absolutely. I was agog at the number of people on the beaches tanning themselves bronze. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/117 "2022-09-25T15:30:16Z")
Seafood! People the appeal is seafood! ---
**Author:** ![keeganst94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a6a055/32.png) [@keeganst94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keeganst94)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/118 "2022-09-25T15:52:15Z")
Florida is lovely if you completely avoid all the major cities and go for the nature and wildlife, which is pretty much the only reason I travel. Sure it doesn’t have any elevation, but the snorkeling is great (compared to where I am at least), and the biodiversity of reptiles, birds, fish and marine invertebrates is interesting. There’s also more diversity of habitat than I think people give it credit for - beaches, pineland, grassland, mangrove swamp, and some very large springs. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/119 "2022-09-25T22:23:27Z")
I don’t have to shovel the heat. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/120 "2022-09-26T00:10:21Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > I don’t have to shovel the heat That, I don’t think anyone can argue with. Not only do you not have to shovel, but in mostly not having to deal with that ever, at all, it has an advantage over those places where there is _as a norm_ a mild winter with little or no snow, but that then when it _does_ come the place will fall into utter chaos, since nobody ever gets enough experience to deal with it. Of course at some point you’ll get an Arizonan to pop in about the superiority of their “_dry_ heat” … I am right now not in the mood to do a search, but come to think of it I remember we’ve had threads regarding the virtues or defects of various regions/states/cities or more generic habitation environments (rural/small town v. suburb v. big city) where there’s always some segment of the participants in utter disbelief of what do the others see in the place. Eventually we _will_ cover the whole country. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021.md?page=7)